Welcome to Sadie Valeri's
Online Atelier
Virtual Painting and Drawing Classes
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A complete classical realism atelier program with personal instruction
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All experience levels welcome
Drawing Courses
Classical Drawing with Graphite Pencil
Sadie's drawing instruction is based on 19th century French academic training models, starting with Bargue plates and moving on to cast drawing. Advanced shading techniques and historic training exercises lead to significant leaps in drawing ability for artists of all levels.
"I learned more about light and shadow in your video about how to draw a sphere than I have in years of viewing and reading about similar exercises.”
Drawing by Ian Hurtado Zafra
Classical Drawing with Charcoal and Chalk
Sadie shares timeless principles for capturing proportion and light in her clear, descriptive teaching style. Techniques for creating strong, light-filled charcoal drawings of subjects like drapery, casts, and the human figure can be applied to any subject.
"Sadie is a wonderful and joyful teacher. I had been struggling trying to understand cast drawing on my own but her video gave me several 'aha' moments."
Painting Courses
Alla Prima Oil Painting
Contemporary Impressionist
This single-session, wet-in-wet method works best for quickly capturing fast-changing subjects like flowers and landscapes with fresh brush strokes.
"The videos are filled with gems and information like no other course I watched."
Direct Oil Painting
Italian Renaissance
An efficient method for creating a finished painting with a few layers, starting with an under painting and completed with a couple color layers.
“Amazing instructional videos, clear, concise, and to the point. I’ve learnt more from these videos than 4 years of university instruction.”
Indirect Oil Painting
Dutch Golden Age
The most time-consuming and technical of the three methods, Indirect oil painting starts with a detailed graphite line drawing and gray-scale under painting, followed by several layers of full-color painting, including glazing and scumbling for a highly refined finish.
"Sadie's philosophy, coupled with her passion, shine forth in all of her teachings. But more than that, her pedagogy is sound: I have been finding her content to be constructive, positive, encouraging... and presented in a way that the student can actually incorporate into their art practice."
Membership
Become a Member
Members get instant access to all of Sadie's courses for an affordable monthly rate, with the option to upgrade for personal feedback in our member forum or in private messaging with our atelier instructors.
Blog
Blog
Get a glimpse into Sadie's studio and her current paintings and projects.
About Us
About Sadie Valeri
Sadie Valeri is an internationally recognized classical oil painter based in San Francisco, California. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and Europe and featured in dozens of periodicals and books. She has been invited to judge several national art competitions and has been a faculty member at the Portrait Society of America's annual conference and a headlining presenter at the F.A.C.E Figurative Art Conference.
About the Atelier
Sadie began accepting private students to her studio in 2009, and over the following decade she and her husband Nowell created a nationally-known ARC-approved atelier art school instructing 150 students a week in a 3,500 square foot studio. She has been teaching students online since 2016.
Help and F.A.Q.
Where should I start?
Intro to Classical Drawing and Intro to Oil Painting are accessible courses for beginners and an appropriate place to start for all levels of experience.
